India Services PMI at 57.2 in August

The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose from July's four-month low of 55.5 to 57.2 in August, highlighting a rebound in growth. The upturn was attributed to stronger gains in new business, ongoing improvements in demand, job creation and overtime work.

Pollyanna De Lima, Economics Associate Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said: "Indian services activity rose strongly midway through the second fiscal quarter, with the pace of expansion recovering some of the ground lost in July. The pick-up in growth stemmed from a rebound in new business gains as firms continued to benefit from the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and ongoing marketing efforts.

"With demand showing considerable resilience, service providers maintained a degree of pricing power and lifted selling prices amid the transfer of cost increases to customers. While the rate of charge inflation was broadly similar to July, there was a considerably softer upturn in input costs. The latter rose at the weakest pace in close to a year.

"There were other positives in the latest results. Business confidence strengthened substantially, reaching its highest since May 2018, while employment rose at the fastest pace in over 14 years.

"Finance & Insurance was the brightest area of the service economy in August, leading with regards to growth of sales and output. As for input cost inflation, Consumer Services topped the sector rankings but it was in Transport, Information & Communication that the fastest rise in selling prices was recorded."

Meanwhile, the S&P Global India Composite PMI Output Index rose from 56.6 in July to 58.2 in August, indicating a sharp pace of expansion. Aggregate output growth in India recovered from July's slowdown as both manufacturers and service providers noted quicker rates of increase in August.

Composite PMI indices are weighted averages of comparable manufacturing and services PMI indices. Weights reflect the relative size of the manufacturing and service sectors according to official GDP data.

The indices vary between 0 and 100, with a reading above 50 indicating an overall increase compared to the previous month, and below 50 an overall decrease. The indices are then seasonally adjusted.

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